This photo tutorial will show you how to accomplish each of these three methods. I also hope to shed some light on the differences between the methods. Lastly I will touch on interchanging methods and what would happen if you use one method where another one is required by a pattern.

How to crochet in the Round

A Guide to Working in a Spiral and Joining in the Round

If you do not want to read the whole article, you can skip to the relevant section by clicking on the bullet points below.

Please note that I use US terminology throughout. Why? Because that’s just how I roll.

I have used running stitch markers throughout to make it easier to see the seam. I am a massive advocate for using running stitch markers. They take a split second to flick back and forth over your work and can save you A LOT of headache.

Working in a spiral

For illustration purposes I have started with a 15-ch foundation chain. This method applies to absolutely anything that needs to be worked in a spiral. What that means is that you won’t join the beginning and end of each round. Rather you will continue around, making the first st of each round in the first st of the previous round.

Recommendations

I strongly recommend using a running stitch marker when you work in a spiral as you won’t have any other prompts/cues to remind you where the end of the round should fall. If you are just working a tube, this doesn’t really matter. If you are making something shaped, like a head or a body, this can be detrimental!

An example of a pattern written for crocheting in a spiral would be:

Ch 15. Don’t turn and don’t join. Just continue around, working the first st of the next round in the first st of this round.

15 x sc. {15}

15 x sc. {15}

Method

After you have worked your foundation chain (the first row/round of any crochet pattern – see photo 1), insert your hook into the first ch st (the one furthest away from your hook – photo 2) and make a sc (photo 3).

If you are working in a spiral and you want to use a piece of yarn as a running st marker, you can only start doing it from the end of round 2 as there is nothing to hold the yarn in place at the end of round 1. So continue to work each st of round 2 as required by the pattern. Your last st of round 2 should fall in the last st of the foundation chain (photo 4).

Before starting the next round, lay a piece of scrap yarn over your work (photo 5). Now crochet the next round, starting in the next available stitch, which will be the first st of round 2.

Continue working your rounds, making the first st of every round in the first st of the previous round and flicking your stitch marker back and forth before the first st of each round (photos 7 and 8). If you ARE using a running st marker it will serve as a visual cue that you are still on the right track. The last st of the round should should fall in the st to the right of the st marker (photo 6).

When you work in a spiral you will not have a seam at all. The running stitch marker below shows you where each round started. You can see that it creeps slightly to the right as your crochet item progresses.

Pros

Working in a spiral is ridiculously easy. No joining and no fussing. As long as you keep an eye on where your rounds need to start and finish you will be fine!

Cons

The down-side to working in a spiral is that you have a bump at the beginning and the end of your work. This does not make a difference when the piece is sewn onto another piece.

Remedy

I usually just take a yarn needle and thread the initial tail of yarn through both remaining loops of the last chain stitch. This flattens the bump out almost as if you had made a sl st.

To get rid of the bump at the end of your work most patterns will inform you to sl st in the next st and then bind off, making the bump less noticeable.

Joining in the round – starting in the same st as the sl st join

For the most part, this method is completely interchangeable with working in a spiral as the first st of each round creeps to the right in both of these methods. So if you have a pattern that calls for joining in the round, you can just as easily ignore the sl st join at the end of each round and the ch-1 at the beginning of each round and just continue working in a spiral.

For illustration purposes I have started with a 15-ch foundation chain. This method applies to absolutely anything that requires you to join in the round starting in the same stitch as the sl st join.

An example of a pattern written for crocheting in the round in this way would be:

Ch 15. Join to the first st with a sl st. {15}

Ch 1. Sc in the same st as the sl st join and the next 14 st’s. Join to the first st with a sl st. {15}

Ch 1. Sc in the same st as the sl st join and the next 14 st’s. Join to the first st with a sl st. {15}

Method

After you have worked your foundation chain (the first row/round of any crochet pattern – see photo 1), insert your hook into the first ch st (the one furthest away from your hook – photo 2) and make a sl st (photo 3).

Ch 1 to begin the next round. Each round will start with a ch-1 to get you up to the height you need (if you are using hdc or dc’s, each round will start with a ch-2 or a ch-3 as applicable). This chain stitch does not count as a stitch! (Or chain stitches if applicable)

If you are going to use a running stitch marker, lay it over your work after making the ch-1 but before making the first stitch of the round (photo 4). Now make the first sc in the same st as the sl st join (photo 5). Continue working the rest of your stitches. When you get to end of the round, you should have what looks like one stitch left. This is not a stitch, but rather the back-end of the slip stitch join. Skip this stitch AND the initial ch-1 and join to the first st (sc) with a sl st (photo 6).

Continue working each subsequent round in the same way, making your first st in the same st as the sl st join and skipping the join st and the initial ch-1 when joining at the end of the round.

Remember to flick your running stitch marker backwards and forwards after each initial ch-1. Using a running stitch marker makes it easier to distinguish which stitch is the initial ch-1 as it will fall directly over the st marker. So if you have any trouble determining which st to join to, make sure that you don’t join to the stitch on top of the stitch marker as that will be the ch st. Join to the st AFTER the st marker, which will be the first st.

When you join in the round like this you will get quite a visible seam that will creep slightly to the right as your item progresses. Because you are skipping the join and the initial ch-1, your seam will be gappy, with visible bumps.

Pros

Joining in the round like this makes it easy to keep track of your stitch counts. At the end of each round you should have a st left before the st marker (this will be the joining st). If you don’t have a st left, or you have 2 st’s left, it immediately flags up the fact that you have made an error, either in this round or the previous.

Cons

The seam is clearly visible and can be an eyesore, especially if you change colours at the end of each round.

Remedy

If you are only making a tube or something where the placement of your increases is not particularly important, you can consider using futuregirl’s method for seamless single crochet. This method involves turning the work at the end of every round though, so is only suitable for things where the placement of the increases is not important! You cannot turn your work on things like a shaped head unless the pattern specifically calls for the work to be turned.

Joining in the round – starting in the st after the sl st join

This is the method my granny taught me and I prefer it for various reasons. It is NOT interchangeable with the other two methods AT ALL, unless you are only working a tube or a flat circle where the placement of the increases don’t matter.

For illustration purposes I have started with a 15-ch foundation chain. This method applies to patterns where the designer specifically expresses that the first stitch should not be worked in the same st as the sl st join.

An example of a pattern written for this method would be:

Please note: for the purposes of this pattern, do not make your first st in the same st as the sl st join. This will mean that your last st will fall in the back end of the sl st join, which is quite tight.

Ch 15. Join to the first st with a sl st. {15}

Ch 1. Sc x 15. Join to the first st with a sl st. Remember that you should not make your first st in the same st as the sl st join. {15}

Ch 1. Sc x 15. Join to the first st with a sl st. {15}

Method

After you have worked your foundation chain (the first row/round of any crochet pattern – see photo 1), insert your hook into the first ch st (the one furthest away from your hook – photo 2) and make a sl st (photo 3).

Ch 1 to begin the next round. Each round will start with a ch-1 to get you up to the height you need (if you are using hdc or dc’s, each round will start with a ch-2 or a ch-3 as applicable). This chain stitch does not count as a stitch! (Or chain stitches if applicable)

If you are going to use a running stitch marker, lay it over your work after making the ch-1 but before making the first stitch of the round (photo 4). Now make the first sc in the st AFTER the sl st join, so the first open st (photo 5). Continue working the rest of your stitches. The last st of the round should be quite tight to get into as it is the back end of the sl st join. (Photo 6 shows the last st that you will need to work into. Photo 7 shows the last stitch of the round already made).

This should bring you to the initial ch-1 of the round, which will fall directly over the running stitch marker (photo 7). Skip this initial ch-1 and join to the first st (sc) with a sl st (photo 8).

If you are using a running stitch marker, remember to flick it backwards and forwards at the beginning of each round (photo 9). Using a st marker will make it easier for you to identify the initial ch-1.

If you are used to crocheting in the round your eye is most likely well trained. But for most people (and definitely for myself when I started!) it is quite difficult to tell which st to skip and which one to join to. If you are using a st marker, it will fall directly under the ch-1. So do NOT join to the st directly above the st marker. Join to the st after the st marker, which will be your first st (see photo below).

When you join in the round like this, you will end up with a seam that creeps significantly to the LEFT.

BUT

The resulting seam will be a lot neater than if you had started in the same st as the sl st join.

Pros

Joining in the round like this is NEAT! The resulting seam is visible but smooth and not ugly.

The tightness of the last st you work into acts as an extra prompt that you have indeed worked all your stitches correctly. If the last st I work into is not tight, it prompts me to check all the stitches in my round. It can be indicative of a mistake in the current round or the previous one.

Cons

This method is not interchangeable with the other two methods (unless you are purely working a tube or a flat circle). Because the first st of every round creeps to the left in this method and to the right in the others, it will cause massive problems if you are working a shaped object like a horse’s head. If a pattern is written to be worked in a spiral or calls for the first st to be made in the same st as the sl st join, using this method instead will place the increases in a completely different spot. This won’t be so noticeable on the first round, but the more rounds you have, the more your increases will be offset from where they should be.

It can get ugly very fast!

Remedy

None, unfortunately. Use this method only if a pattern calls for it specifically!

Interchanging methods

As I have already mentioned, the spiral technique and the first technique for joining in the round (making your first st in the same st as the sl st join) are completely interchangeable as the first st of each round for both of these creeps steadily to the right at the same angle.

If you want a completely straight seam, futuregirl’s seamless single crochet tutorial offers you the best choice, but you will have to turn at the end of each round. This means that you cannot interchange this method with any of the three I mentioned, UNLESS you are only working a tube (like an octopus tentacle) or a flat circle (like a coaster or a Round Rag Rug) where the position of the increases doesn’t matter as much.

My favourite by far is the second method for joining in the round where you make your first st in the st after the sl st join. But this method, like future girl’s method, is not interchangeable with any of the other methods if there is any shaping involved. Like I have already said, the seam for this method creeps significantly to the left. So if you used this method where any of the other methods were called for, you’ll end up with a very lopsided item. You can, however, use it in patterns where there are no increases or the placement of the increases doesn’t matter as much.

Phew! What a mouth full.

I hope you have found this tutorial helpful and would love to hear from you if you have (or if you haven’t). Do you have a different approach to joining in the round? Or maybe you have a hint that makes working in the round easier.

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Dear Dedri, you can’t imagine how this tutorial was helpful to me! I was very confused and my rows was endind with more stitches than it had to, I didn’t know in wich stitch should I made the Sl St and now it’s so clear!! Thank you very much!! <3
Brilliant tutorial, excellent explanations and photos! I think I'm nor afraid of joining rounds anymore.

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